I recently became aware of a website called GOG.com. It’s brand new and still in an early-access beta (it’s due to be opened up to everyone soon, I believe), but it looks freakin’ awesome. The idea is this: you can buy and download popular, classic PC games (think Descent, Fallout, Freespace 2), all guaranteed to work on Windows Vista or XP, and all DRM free. That’s right: no DRM. I suppose that’s not insanely attractive to most people, but to the people who hate to deal with installation limits (à la Spore), CD keys, or online verification servers, it’s a real kicker. I was able to wrangle an early-access key, so I’ve been checking the place out. I haven’t bought or downloaded anything, so I can’t report on how well that works, but I can say that the interface is snazzy, the selection is great (better than what you can find in the local gaming store’s bargain bin, that’s for sure), and the prices are very nice ($10 and under for pretty much everything).
It really looks like a good deal. I’m interested to see how much the game catalog there expands and how well things work out. Also, if anyone is really interested in scoping it out, I’ve got a beta key available to the first commenter who asks. Alternately, you can put your email in at the main site and hope they send you a key.
